Topic Wiki

Food:
  • If you get a piece of eggshell in with the eggs while cracking them, use the other half of the eggshell to fish it out instead of trying to use your fingers or anything else.
  • If you want to separate the yolk from the white, take an empty clean water bottle, squeeze the bottle, place the mouth over the yolk and slowly release the bottle. The yolk will get sucked up into the bottle with minimal/no white.
  • When boiling eggs, add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to the water. Makes them really easy to peel and doesn't affect the taste.
  • If you have a room temperature bottle (and esp can) that you want to get cold fast, wrap a wet paper towel around it and put it in the freezer. It'll be ice cold pretty quickly.
  • Microwave rice from TJ's
  • Open a can of corn,put salt pepper and cheese on top, microwave or oven it (super easy lunch)
  • 2 slices of old pizza from the fridge, lay them cheese sides on top of each other and put them in a sandwich maker. Instant calzone.
  • For chulent of course.. Using only navy beans, chulent mix a big no no.
  • If you're going to freeze ground beef, put it in a gallon ziploc and squeeze/spread it flat to fill the bag. You can stack them in the freezer and it'll defrost much faster (without the outside spoiling while the inside is still frozen).
  • To easily melt a small amount of chocolate / butter, put it in a ziploc bag and put that into a mug of hot water for a few minutes. No mess! You can cut a hole in the corner to pipe chocolate too.
  • Shredded cheese lasts longer in the freezer, but will clump up, before freezing add a little bit of cornstarch (1tbs) and shake vigorously. The pieces will stay separate and it'll be easy to use.
  • To cool down baby food without blowing at it (which may add your bacteria to the food) wave your hand at it.
Travel:
  • If you want a hot meal on any plane, bring a tradition soup or oatmeal packet and use the free hot water they offer with tea. Great for traveling in general.
  • Before you go on a long flight, freeze a JJ cappuccino.  If it's frozen they let it on the plane. Once you get up from your nap on the plane there is nothing as refreshing as an iced cappuccino. It should still be freezing but not frozen.
  • When packing a suitcase, put your socks inside your shoes. It will save a little space and stop your shoes from getting crushed.
  • The aisle seat armrest usually has a little button underneath by the hinge that allows you to lift it. Makes it much easier to get in and out of your seat, especially if your tray table is open with stuff on it.
  • When we go on trips My wife packs the childrens clothing in individual ziplocs for each day of our trip. Like that she doesn't have to look for all the matching stuff.
Computers:
  • You can open links a in new tab by clicking with the scroll wheel.

    Quickly toggle between tabs.

    1) Excel and most internet browsers: Ctrl + PgUp/Dn
    2) Google Sheets: Ctrl + Shift + PgUpDn
    3) chrome: control-tab / control-shift-tab
alternatively ctrl+number tab from left
   
  • Widows+V will open up your clipboard with all recent stuff copied.
Every day/Home:
  • If you are drilling into a wall, open an envelope and tape the flap to the wall under where you are drilling and it catches all the plaster/dust that comes out. Makes cleanup after a small drilling a breeze
  • Open glass jars with rubber gloves, Or a rubber band around the lid.
  • When you first open a bottle of soda or seltzer or pop, begin by slowly turning the cap one-quarter turn and wait about 10 seconds, watching for the small bubbles to slow down, and listening as the sssst of escaping gas gets quieter.  Then turn another 1/4 turn, and wait another 10 seconds till it quiets down.
  • If you get chewing gum on your clothes, put the clothes in the freezer for a bit, it will be much easier to remove the gum afterwards.
Stores:

  • Check out at the pharmacy in the grocery store when the regular lines are long.
Perscriptions:

  • GoodRX.com, even for meds that are covered. My insurance can have a $15 copay, but coupon from GoodRX gets me the medication for $7. When insurance doesn't cover the medication, it's a fraction of the cost. I've seen discounts of 90%
Holidays:
  • After Yom Tov, especially Pesach, make a spreadsheet. What on the menu went over well with guests and kids. What did you run short on and need to have more next time around. What did you way overbuy on. That way there is no need to reinvent the wheel next year.

« Last edited by qooldude on July 07, 2022, 12:22:43 AM »

Author Topic: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!  (Read 296608 times)

Offline jj1000

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Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« on: June 10, 2020, 02:43:58 PM »
I'd imagine everyone has life hacks they use everyday, that many people are not even aware of.

Post yours below, and give out lots of likes to members who post theirs.

It can literally be anything, for example checking out at the pharmacy in the grocery store when the regular lines are long, microwave rice from TJ's (blew my mind first time having it, how easy it was), open a can of corn,put salt pepper and cheese on top, microwave or oven it (super easy lunch), etc...

You can also include items you can't live without.
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Offline jj1000

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2020, 02:47:58 PM »
@Dan 2 slices of old pizza from the fridge, lay them cheese sides on top of each other and put them in a sandwich maker. Instant calzone. Can also use a waffle machine if you don't have a sandwich/panini maker.
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Offline EliJelly

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2020, 02:50:46 PM »
So I see the focus is mainly on food ;), So I'll say something for chulent of course.. Using only navy beans, chulent mix a big no no. For starters.

Offline sguitarist18

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2020, 03:01:42 PM »
GoodRX.com, even for meds that are covered. My insurance can have a $15 copay, but coupon from GoodRX gets me the medication for $7.

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2020, 03:02:10 PM »
So I see the focus is mainly on food ;), So I'll say something for chulent of course.. Using only navy beans, chulent mix a big no no. For starters.
Here's a life hack, stop putting beans in your cholent.
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline EliJelly

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2020, 03:05:02 PM »
Here's a life hack, stop putting beans in your cholent.
That's even worse than parve chulent, potato or kasha can barely be named chulent

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2020, 03:10:17 PM »
That's even worse than parve chulent, potato or kasha can barely be named chulent
Uh, potatoes, meat, barley, onions....cholent. Beans area what make chili, chili, not what make cholent, cholent.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2020, 03:15:18 PM by mmgfarb »
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Offline EliJelly

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2020, 03:11:42 PM »
Uh, potatoes, meat, barely, onions....cholent.
In Hungarian.. Goulash! :)

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2020, 04:02:28 PM »
Here's one: If you get a piece of eggshell in with the eggs while cracking them, use the other half of the eggshell to fish it out instead of trying to use your fingers or anything else.
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline Joeymc

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2020, 05:36:34 PM »
Here's one: If you get a piece of eggshell in with the eggs while cracking them, use the other half of the eggshell to fish it out instead of trying to use your fingers or anything else.
Can confirm!

On the topic of eggs, if you want to separate the yolk from the white, take an empty clean water bottle, squeeze the bottle, place the mouth over the yolk and slowly release the bottle. The yolk will get sucked up into the bottle with minimal/no white.
120 characters? Hmm, I wonder what I could write with 64 characters. Boy, it's gonna be hard to use up 15 characters. W-

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #10 on: June 10, 2020, 05:39:18 PM »
If you are drilling into a wall, open an envelope and tape the flap to the wall under where you are drilling and it catches all the plaster/dust that comes out.

Makes cleanup after a small drilling a breeze
120 characters? Hmm, I wonder what I could write with 64 characters. Boy, it's gonna be hard to use up 15 characters. W-

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2020, 05:43:34 PM »
When boiling eggs, add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to the water. Makes them really easy to peel and doesn't affect the taste.
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #12 on: June 10, 2020, 05:44:18 PM »
If you're going to freeze ground beef, put it in a gallon ziploc and squeeze/spread it flat to fill the bag. You can stack them in the freezer and it'll defrost much faster (without the outside spoiling while the inside is still frozen).
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

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"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

Offline YitzyS

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #14 on: June 10, 2020, 06:04:06 PM »
This is a great topic! I’m surprised it’s not holding by 100 replies already.

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #15 on: June 10, 2020, 06:54:35 PM »
To easily melt a small amount of chocolate / butter, put it in a ziploc bag and put that into a mug of hot water for a few minutes. No mess! You can cut a hole in the corner to pipe chocolate too.
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #16 on: June 10, 2020, 07:12:32 PM »
Shredded cheese lasts longer in the freezer, but will clump up, before freezing add a little bit of cornstarch (1tbs) and shake vigorously. The pieces will stay separate and it'll be easy to use.

If you want a hot meal on any plane, bring a tradition soup or oatmeal packet and use the free hot water they offer with tea. Great for traveling in general.
See my 5 step program to your left <--

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Offline ah giten

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #17 on: June 10, 2020, 07:17:47 PM »
Shredded cheese lasts longer in the freezer, but will clump up, before freezing add a little bit of cornstarch (1tbs) and shake vigorously. The pieces will stay separate and it'll be easy to use.

If you want a hot meal on any plane, bring a tradition soup or oatmeal packet and use the free hot water they offer with tea. Great for traveling in general.
I think dan advises against using airplane hot water...

האחים שנחלקו.

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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #18 on: June 10, 2020, 07:20:49 PM »
If you're going to freeze ground beef, put it in a gallon ziploc and squeeze/spread it flat to fill the bag. You can stack them in the freezer and it'll defrost much faster (without the outside spoiling while the inside is still frozen).
That’s a fantastic idea
Quote from: YitzyS
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Re: Life Hacks, Post Your Favorites!
« Reply #19 on: June 10, 2020, 07:31:44 PM »
After Yom Tov, especially Pesach, make a spreadsheet. What on the menu went over well with guests and kids. What did you run short on and need to have more next time around. What did you way overbuy on. That way there is no need to reinvent the wheel next year.